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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 18

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 36 Chapter 18 WV WORKS Activities/Requirements

18.5 REQUIREMENTS FOR PARENTS UNDER AGE 18 There are special requirements for parents under the age of 18 to be eligible for WV WORKS cash assistance. The individual who is not age 18, is not married, has a minor child at least 12 weeks of ages in his or her care, and has not successfully completed a high-school education (or its equivalent) must meet the following two requirements: • Remain in an educational activity to complete high school, obtain a high school equivalency diploma or vocational training. See Chapter 3 for more details; and • Live with parent(s) or in other adult-supervised living arrangement. See Chapter 3 for more details. Failure to meet the educational requirement results in ineligibility for an unmarried parent under age 18. Failure to live with parent(s) or in another adult-supervised setting results in ineligibility for an unmarried parent under age 18 and the child(ren) of such parent. Parents Under Age 18 Example 1: A 16-year-old mother lives with the 19-year- old legal father of her baby. The father and the baby may be eligible, although the mother is ineligible. Parents Under Age 18 Example 2: A 16-year-old mother is married to the 21- year-old father of her child. All members of the assistance group are eligible to be included in the check. As a parent under 20, the mother must meet the educational requirements required on the Personal Responsibility Contract/Self- Sufficiency Plan (PRC/SSP) or the case would be sanctioned.

NOTE: When another parent of the child who is age 18 or over resides in the home, the child may be eligible.